The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 810 The Qing Dynasty officially entered the countdown

[Evaluation level E·Zero points]

……

{The first person to propose the need to give the local opium cultivation industry a living space was Xu Naiji, a junior official of the Taichang Temple who disagreed with Lin Zexu's ban on opium.}
{In Xu's opinion, opium cannot be banned, so it would be better to legalize the opium trade. In this way, the government can not only make profits from it by levying taxes, but also formulate policies to regulate the trade.}
{In 1847, Lin Zexu, who had been transferred to Shaanxi as governor, also changed his "opium view" and became a "comrade-in-arms" with Xu Naiji.}
{In a letter to his friend Wen Hai, Lin Zexu said: "I also think that it is fine to grow opium in the mainland, but I hate that people in the mainland prefer foreign tobacco to local tobacco." At this time, Lin Zexu was worried that those who were used to smoking foreign tobacco would not change their minds and support local products, "but I am afraid that these people who smoke opium may not change their minds!" This would lead to the outflow of silver. }
{…The two sides of history, the butt determines the head.}
{Once upon a time, those who opposed the ban on smoking were collectively reviled by the government and the people. But now, those who advocated the ban on smoking are hesitant.}
{The obstacle to banning smoking is that the government is unwilling to give it up because it sees it as a source of profit.}
{The majority of the people were trapped in the evil poison, and the Qing government should bear the main responsibility for allowing local opium cultivation.}
……

Big man.

Liu Bang looked at the ironic words in the sky and sighed:

“When people are poor, their ambitions are short; when a country is poor, its ambitions are short too.”

"The essence is that the country is too weak. It can't win the war and can only drink poison to quench thirst."

“Poverty makes people short-sighted.”

"Because just staying alive is already a huge effort."

Liu Ying couldn't help but said indignantly:
"Has everyone forgotten the harmful effects of opium?"

"Or do they simply not care about the huge harm that opium has brought to the people!"

Everyone present knew it well.

The Qing Dynasty only considered trade and wealth, but not food and health.

The people have never been their base.

……

Period of Emperor Guangwu of Yanhan Dynasty

Liu Zhuang started with specific things and analyzed:
"Now that opium poppies have been grown in the Qing Dynasty, ignoring this fait accompli and banning their cultivation will only help the foreigners make profits and make it easier for the clerks to extort money from the people."

"The only solution now is to temporarily relax the ban on opium poppies, and then implement policies to strictly prohibit opium cultivation when the amount of imported opium decreases."

Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua understood Liu Zhuang's logic. This proposition was nothing more than choosing the lesser of two evils.

Taxing opium is just a means; banning smoking is the ultimate goal.

"You want to use levy as a prohibition and to put prohibition in levy."

Liu Xiu said slowly:
“It’s a good idea, but in terms of implementation, it’s going to be the greater of two evils.”

Liu Zhuang listened carefully.

“It’s just because of the role played by local bureaucrats.”

"Prohibition through taxation will only be a cover-up. They will encourage or even force the people to grow opium in order to expand the tax base."

“This is their first and only purpose.”

……

Datang.

Li Shimin, who had already returned, sneered:
"The policy of liberalizing the cultivation of local opium is because the court is well aware that the relaxation of the opium ban can bring in huge amounts of money every year."

"From the beginning, their purpose was to collect taxes, not to ban smoking."

"In Shanxi, where opium poppies grow everywhere, a tragedy occurred in which four to five million people starved to death. In their eyes, it is worthless."

Between the court's income and the people's food and clothing.

The highest decision-making level and local governors all unanimously chose the former.

"The people are the most important, the society is second, and the king is the light."

No one mentioned it anymore.

……

On the canopy.

In the sky above the Qing Empire, a sharp voice announced the will of the empire's master:
“There are eternal principles in the world, but there is no unchanging method of governance.”

"Consulting the political principles of China and the West, including the court system, national politics, civil service, people's livelihood, schools, imperial examinations, military system, and finance, we should change what should be changed, reduce what should be merged, and learn from others or seek from ourselves. How can the country prosper? How can talents emerge? How can the budget be enriched? How can military preparations be improved?"

"Yixun believes that learning from foreign countries' strengths can make up for China's weaknesses. Learning from past mistakes can serve as a guide for the future."

……

【Later influence: Since the Reform Movement of 1898, Guangxu has been under house arrest, and the world's major affairs are in the hands of Cixi. 】

【After the Eight-Nation Alliance, Cixi, seeing the urgent situation both at home and abroad, announced the implementation of the New Deal in an attempt to win back the hearts of the people.】

[On January 1901, 1, in the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict to "prepare for reform". The general content was that officials across the country could propose reform suggestions for enriching the country and strengthening the military in all aspects of the Qing Dynasty, such as people's livelihood, schools, military affairs, etc.]

【After the New Deal edict was issued, Shandong Governor Yuan Shikai first proposed countermeasures for the New Deal. Then, Liangjiang Governor Liu Kunyi and Huguang Governor Zhang Zhidong jointly submitted three memorials (commonly known as the Jiang-Chu Hui Memorials on Reform), proposing three suggestions: "cultivating talents and promoting education", "rectifying Chinese methods" and "adopting Western methods", which were praised by Cixi. 】

[These three folds became the general outline of the new political reforms thereafter.]

[In April 1901, the Qing government announced the establishment of the "Office of Supervising Government Affairs" as the "central office" for the implementation of the new policy and the office responsible for planning the reform of the new policy.]

……

Qing Dynasty Yongzheng Period
Yongzheng carefully read Cixi's edict and then looked at the changes made in the three folds.

Most of them fall within the scope of the Reform Movement of 1898.

"Cixi was not opposed to learning from foreign countries to make up for China's shortcomings."

"From the edict, it can be seen that after eliminating the reformists, she agreed to reform and innovate."

"This is to shut Guangxu up."

Hongli listened with mixed feelings.

Why did she want to shut the emperor's mouth? It was obvious that she wanted to do the same thing as the emperor.

……

【After the Russo-Japanese War, the world believed that Japan won by establishing a constitutional government. Therefore, in the 1905st year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (), Empress Dowager Cixi sent five ministers, Zai Ze, Dai Hongci, Duan Fang, Shang Qiheng, and Li Shengduo, to study the constitutional government of Japan and other European and American countries.】

[The following year, the five ministers returned to the country and strongly advocated the benefits of constitutionalism. At that time, many court officials, provincial officials, and envoys stationed abroad also advocated reform.]

[In the past three or four years, no less than dozens of things have been done, such as changing academies into schools, abolishing the imperial examination system, training soldiers in accordance with Western methods, and cutting redundant staff.]

【Cixi also announced that she was preparing to establish a constitution politically.】

……

{She thought that constitutionalism was about concentrating the imperial power, but she finally asked Cao Rulin and found out that the core of legislation was that everyone, including the emperor, must abide by the constitution.}
{The core of leadership is that the people have the right to vote and the legislators represent the interests of the people.}
{The center of administration means that the Prime Minister has all administrative powers.}
{These are completely different from what Zai Ze told her. She regretted it to her core.}
……

Ming dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned as he pondered over the constitutional monarchy.

Although he only said a few words, he also knew that the essence of constitutionalism was to expand civil rights rather than to reshape royal power.

Therein lies the problem.

Is an emperor without imperial power still an emperor?

The imperial examination system was also abolished.

The ruling method that connected with the official group of the court was the system of merit and fame with the imperial examination as its core. This system could provide all scholars with an illusion that everyone had the opportunity to enter the core.

The selection criteria for the imperial examinations were completely controlled by the court, which could serve the purpose of disciplining scholars ideologically and academically.

It is possible to mass-produce scholars whose thoughts, positions and insights meet the needs of the court.

If the imperial examination system was abolished, the court would need to find something new to replace the system of merit and honor if it wanted to continue its ruling technique.

"What do you need?"

“Let the constitution protect the imperial power?”

……

【After Empress Dowager Cixi announced the preparation for constitutionalism, many societies were established to study constitutionalism, such as the Political News Society, the Constitutional Studies Society, the Preparatory Constitutional Association, and the National Assembly Preparation Association.】

[These groups often communicate with each other and launch various petitions to accelerate reforms.]

[In September 1907, Xiong Fanyu, chairman of the Constitutional Studies Association, and others jointly submitted a petition to the Qing government, demanding the quick convening of the National Assembly and the establishment of a democratically elected parliament.]

[Other societies followed suit. In 1908, Henan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhili, Fengtian, Jilin, Shandong, Shanxi, Zhejiang and other provinces sent gentry representatives to Beijing to petition. There were thousands of gentry signing the petition in each province.]

[Cixi did not like these petition campaigns because they meant things were getting out of control.]

On March 1908, 3, Empress Dowager Cixi personally promulgated the "Law on Associations and Assembly". This law set up various procedural obstacles for political associations. For example:

Regardless of whether the gathering is indoors or outdoors, the initiator must bring detailed information to the patrol police station to apply for approval; regular (reserved, reserve) soldiers, patrol police officers, monks, teachers and students are not allowed to participate in political associations and political discussions. 】

[The number of people in an association shall not exceed one hundred, and the number of people in a gathering shall not exceed two hundred. ]

[During rallies, the Patrol Police Station can send people to the scene to monitor, and the monitors have seats at the venue. ]

……

{The entire "Law on Associations and Assemblies" is filled with "restrictions" on political gatherings. For example, before forming an association, the initiator must report the purpose, name, office, resumes and addresses of the members of the association to the Patrol Police Station.}
{Associations in the capital must be reported to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for approval, and associations in other provinces must be approved by the governor-general; before the meeting, an initiator must be determined, and the initiator must report the reason, location, time, name, resume and address of the initiator, as well as the number of participants to the local patrol police station one day in advance.}
{Among them, the two most fatal provisions are: Article 19, no matter what kind of association, if the Ministry of Civil Affairs or the provincial governor, patrol police, bureau, or local officials order it to be dissolved or temporarily suspended for the sake of maintaining public security, it should be handled accordingly.}
{Article 20: Regardless of the type of assembly or procession, patrol police or local government offices may impose restrictions or order it to be dispersed in order to maintain public security.}
{This means that as long as the imperial court is dissatisfied, no matter what kind of association or gathering it is, it can be disbanded under the extremely vague pretext of "maintaining public security."}
{This is also the core purpose of Empress Dowager Cixi's order to compile the "Law on Associations and Assembly".}
{Regardless of constitution-building and reform, the core purpose is still to maintain power in one’s hands.}
……

Qing Dynasty, Daoguang Period
Daoguang sighed repeatedly.

"To maintain the power in your hands... it's really going from bad to worse."

They even had to draft a special restriction to crack down on these rallies and petitions.

If it were in the past, during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, would there be a need for the "Law on Associations and Assembly"?
Do you know about literary inquisition?
At the command, whoever dares to initiate or participate in a petition campaign will have his entire clan wiped out!

Too bad we can't do that anymore.

……

[Three days after the release of the Law on Associations and Assembly, on March 1908, 3, the Qing Newspaper Law, drafted by Empress Dowager Cixi, was also officially announced.]

[The Qing Newspaper Law contains a total of 45 articles. The core provisions are: 1. Before a newspaper is established, it must register with the government and pay a deposit.]

【2. Each issue must be submitted to the local administrative agency or police agency for review before publication.】

【3. It is forbidden to publish any speech that "slanders the imperial court", "confuses the political system" or "disturbs public security". Violators will be "permanently banned from publication".】

[4. It is forbidden to publish "imperial orders and memorials that have not been published in official newspapers or cabinet documents." Violators will be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than two years and a fine of not more than 200 yuan.]

[5. Newspapers and periodicals published abroad that violate the above provisions are prohibited from entering the country and will be confiscated by the customs and then destroyed by the government.]

[In August 1908, Cixi presided over the formulation of the "Outline of the Imperial Constitution". "Imperial Constitution" means that it was finally reviewed and confirmed by Cixi.]

[The entire "Outline" can be divided into two parts. The first part is "The Great Power of the Sovereign", which is full of "The House of Representatives shall not interfere", "It shall not be decided by the House of Representatives", and "Nothing shall be interfered with by the House of Representatives". The imperial power is stronger than before the constitution. ]

[The second part is the rights and obligations of the subjects. The people have the qualifications to be officials and members of parliament, can go to court to sue, and can avoid being illegally arrested and imprisoned. These are just the minimum human rights.]

[At the same time, it seems that the people are given the freedom of speech, writing, publishing, assembly and association, but the prefix is ​​"within the scope of the law", and what the "Association and Assembly Law" and the "Qing Dynasty Newspaper Law" are like has already been introduced. ]

[After completing these tasks to protect the imperial power, Empress Dowager Cixi died on November 1908, 11 at the age of 15.]

[On November 1908, 11, the day before Cixi's death, Emperor Guangxu, who was 14 years old and in his prime, also died.]

[The difference between the two is less than 22 hours. 】

……

{I almost forgot about Guangxu.}
{How did Guangxu die? Some historical records say he died of illness, while others say he was poisoned.}
{In 2008, the National Qing History Compilation Committee released the "Special Research Project Results on Major Academic Issues" "Research Report on the Cause of Death of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty", which stated that the arsenic content in Emperor Guangxu's hair was significantly higher than normal. The highest arsenic content in the hair was 2404 micrograms/gram, which was 9.20 times the arsenic content in the hair of Empress Longyu (261 micrograms/gram), an adult living in a similar environment at the same time.}
{Analysis of arsenic species revealed that the high levels of arsenic compounds in Emperor Guangxu’s remains, hair, and clothing were highly toxic arsenic trioxide, or arsenic trioxide.}
{After scientific calculations, the total amount of arsenic that Emperor Guangxu ingested was significantly greater than the lethal dose. Therefore, the research concluded that Emperor Guangxu died of arsenic poisoning.}
{Combining scientific testing with written materials, it can be basically confirmed that it was Empress Dowager Cixi who ordered the poisoning of Emperor Guangxu with arsenic.}
……

Qing Dynasty and Qianlong period
"She dared to kill the king!"

All the ministers were in a panic.

Qianlong's eyes turned red.

Yes, he looked down on Guangxu, that fool, whose head was full of Western learning.

What a complete idiot who has forgotten his roots.

But this doesn't mean you can kill the king!

……

Qing Dynasty, Guangxu Period
"It's over..."

Cixi never expected that her future self would give her such a great gift!
"Regicide."

No matter how dissatisfied those ministers are with the emperor and how they support him.

Once this happened, all legal principles were lost.

No one will continue to support me at the risk of the world's condemnation.

"That's all."

Cixi slowly stood up and touched the flag head.

Anyway, I have done everything I can.

"The Qing Empire has its own destiny."

……

[In the same year, after Guangxu and Cixi passed away, Puyi, the son of Guangxu's younger brother, Prince Chun Zai Li, became the heir. At the age of three, Zai Li served as the regent.]

[The following year, the reign was changed to the first year of Xuantong.]

【In the first year of the Xuantong reign (1909), consultative councils were established in various provinces. 】

[The Qing court stipulated that "the Advisory Council is only a place for the opinions of a province" and "the so-called civil rights are only the right to speak, not the right to act."]

[The foundation of the Qing Dynasty, the gentry class, officially collapsed. ]

[In the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910), the Council of State Affairs was established.]

[The parliament has the following powers: the right to participate in the amendment of the constitution. The right to propose and decide on laws, the right to decide on and review budgets, the right to make promises afterwards, the right to question the government, the right to file impeachments, and the right to accept petitions.]

[The Qing court selected more than 100 members of the royal family as councillors.]

[The imperial court and local governors officially became alienated. ]

【The Qing Dynasty began to enter the countdown. 】

……

(End of this chapter)